


Never Lose Hope

by PartridgeOnAPearTree



Series: Fres [1]
Category: Dangan Ronpa, Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Despair, M/M, self-deprecation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-18
Updated: 2015-10-18
Packaged: 2018-04-26 22:49:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5023591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PartridgeOnAPearTree/pseuds/PartridgeOnAPearTree
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Komaeda says a soft ‘bye’ anyway despite the fact that he won’t be heard anymore at this distance.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Never Lose Hope

“This candy is really getting popular nowadays, huh, Koizumi-neechan? Every candy has a short message printed on the wrapper! I want to collect all of them!” Komaeda hears his classmate, Saionji Hiyoko, speak as he passes by. Saionji was talking to Koizumi Mahiru just like the usual. Komaeda is almost jealous—the fact that the two of them always have each other is something to be envied—but he understands why he can’t have someone like that.

 

A useless person like him with an equally useless talent… He doesn’t even belong here in Hope’s Peak. The only reason that he's here is because he wanted to at least make his good-for-nothing existence worth something. He wished to be able to assist the symbols of hope with the best of his abilities… even if he knows that his best probably won’t even mean much anyway.

 

Actually, thinking that the symbols of hope would ever need his help probably is presumptuous now that he thinks about it, but here he is, and he doesn’t really know if the academy will let him leave at this point. Another reason why he accepted in the first place was because the headmaster was actually pretty adamant.

 

He goes out of the classroom, the courtyard in mind. It’s actually lunch time, but he isn’t really feeling that hungry, so he thinks that maybe it would be an alright idea if he skips lunch today. Maybe he’d regret this decision later, maybe he won’t, but he won’t know until starvation finally looms.

 

He decides that maybe it won’t be that bad.

 

Besides, if he starves, he probably deserves it anyway.

 

He puts his hands in his pockets as he walks, making sure to carefully observe his surroundings. Everyone around him is a symbol of hope—people so evidently superior compared to him, and all of them have something they can excellently do. There were people in the academy who could dance well, nurse people well, train people well—basically, the symbols of hope live in a world completely different from his.

 

It was so funny how someone as worthless as he got inside Hope’s Peak because of a rather halfhearted thing called luck.

 

He always makes sure to watch his surroundings because he doesn’t want to miss the brightness of everyone’s hope as they interact with each other. He knew, of course. He knew that a place filled with beautiful and talented people will be overwhelmingly hopeful.

 

And that’s precisely why there's no way he can miss that.

 

That’s one of the reasons why he's usually in the courtyard. The courtyard is an open area that’s always packed with students, and there actually is a certain part in there that’s perfect in Komaeda’s opinion. It was a place that was neither too close nor too far from where everyone else is—a quite fitting position for someone like him. Close enough to observe, but still far enough to not actually meddle with their affairs.

 

Just the mere thought of actually butting in the Super High School Levels’ businesses was hopelessly disrespectful.

 

He reaches the courtyard, and as he expected, the students were all over like scattered coins. Some of them are happily chatting with each other, huddled together in a small circle, while some are running and playing around.

 

What a refreshing sight.

 

Maybe, in an alternate universe, Komaeda’s talent could have been the Super High School Level Fanboy.

 

He makes way to his usual spot, making sure to navigate as quietly as he can. He makes sure to not stand out as well, considering that he doesn’t really want to bother anyone with what they're doing. Actually, they should just carry on. There's just an insignificant person walking along, nothing interesting about that.

 

He reaches the place that he was trying to get to. It was a bench under a rather huge tree, and no one except from him usually goes there. Because it was placed directly under a tree, the bench usually had one or two insects that Komaeda has to remove before making himself comfortable. He can also guess that those insects must be the reason why it wasn’t a very popular hangout.

 

Komaeda almost laughs because it was truly fitting that a pest like him would spend time in a place where his fellow pests are.

 

Something’s different with the bench when he finally gets a good look to it. There was a black jacket placed on its armrest, and Komaeda curiously lifts it to inspect it. It seems like a simple jacket—it doesn’t really have any striking qualities, though if Komaeda were to be honest, it does look like one that he’d choose to wear.

 

“…Um, excuse me?” Komaeda hears a voice, and he looks up, the jacket still in his hands. There was a short boy wearing a slightly similar hoodie to the one that Komaeda’s wearing, and he had a small apologetic smile on his face. “I didn’t know that someone would be sitting here too, so I left my jacket here for a while because I grabbed some food, haha… I’d just look for a different spot. It’s okay if you stay here. Sorry for the bother.”

 

“Ah.” Komaeda nods and hands the black jacket to the boy. “There's no need for that. It seems that you got here first, so I’ll just be the one to go.”

 

“No, it’s okay, really.” The boy already took a step back from the bench as if finalizing his words. “If you specifically went to this bench, it must mean that you hang out here often… so it’s okay.”

 

“No, that doesn’t really matter.” Komaeda flashes the boy one of his usual smiles. “It’s true that I do hang out here often, but isn’t that more reason why you should hang out here today instead? I can just return here some other day.”

 

“Well, there's always the choice of the both of us staying here. I don’t really mind.” The boy suggests, smiling back. “I'm Naegi Makoto, by the way. What's your name?”

 

“Komaeda.” Komaeda holds out a hand as he replies. Naegi promptly shakes it. “Komaeda Nagito. Nice to meet you, Naegi-kun.”

 

“Nice to meet you too, Komaeda-kun.” Naegi walks to the bench and takes a seat. He maintains a comfortable distance between him and Komaeda—neither too close nor too far … just like their current position from everyone else in the courtyard. “So do you usually hang out here? I'm really sorry if I invaded your space.”

 

Komaeda lets out an airy laugh. If only Naegi knew that he was talking to trash, maybe he wouldn’t speak this respectfully. “It’s not like I own this bench, you know. But yes, I do usually spend my time here. It’s a rather comfortable place, isn’t it?”

 

“I guess so…” Naegi softly chuckles as well. “I had to remove some insects earlier, but after that, it’s all okay.”

 

“Those insects are always here. If anything, aren’t they the ones that we’re intruding?”

 

“Oh…” Naegi blinks. “Well, you're not wrong about that…”

 

“Anyway,” Komaeda smiles again. “From what class are you in, Naegi-kun?”

 

“Ah, right, I'm from Class 78.” Naegi returns his smile. “We’re new this year. My talent’s kind of embarrassing, so maybe you should go first if we’re saying that too.”

 

“Oh?” Komaeda raises an eyebrow. “I'm sure my talent’s way more embarrassing than yours, Naegi-kun. You should go first.”

 

“Haha, well, if you insist…” Naegi looks sheepish. “I'm the Super High School Level Good Luck. I heard there's another one from Class 77, and I wanted to meet them. I mean, my classmates are really nice and all, but sometimes, I just can’t help feeling that I don’t belong... I mean, I only got in because of a lottery, after all… but really, it’s okay, I just have to make the best of things.”

 

“Super High School Level Good Luck?” Komaeda repeats. According to the rumors that he has heard, the headmaster was the only one who's pro the idea of welcoming another student via lottery, but it seems that he was able to push through anyway. The feeling of not belonging… Komaeda can’t say that he doesn’t relate. “That’s interesting.”

 

“Well, I do admit that maybe it’s a bit weird-sounding, haha…” Naegi scratches the back of his head. “But I'm not really complaining. It really is a lucky thing to be able to get in the most prestigious academy of the country. I never would have thought, to be honest.”

 

“But how does it feel?” Komaeda asks. Naegi looks confused. “Do you think you're worthy of being a student of, as you said, the most prestigious academy in the country? You're a completely normal person who doesn’t stand out, someone with no remarkable qualities. The fact that someone like you who can’t even embody hope got in—it almost sounds despair-inducing.”

 

Naegi blinks twice, obviously making sure that he heard Komaeda’s words right. Seeing as Komaeda doesn’t seem to be retracting his comments anytime soon, he replies. “That’s a bit harsh… It’s true that I'm really ordinary, but I think I’ll have to disagree with the part that I can’t embody hope... I mean, I think anyone is capable of being hopeful, even the ones who aren’t talented… If anything, I don’t think hope and talent are related at all.”

 

“Right, I apologize then.” Komaeda smiles. “I should know better than anyone that talentless people can at least be stepladders of hope.”

 

“Uh, something about that still sounds wrong, but…”

 

“Anyway,” Komaeda interrupts. “What did you hear about the other Super High School Level Good Luck? Maybe I can help you locate them.”

 

“Ah, right.” Naegi nods, completely forgetting their previous discussion. “All I know is they're from the class above us because it seems that the lottery only started getting implemented last year… but that’s all. I don’t really know anything else. Sorry.”

 

“Well, that’s alright. I actually know Class 77’s Super High School Level Good Luck anyway. I myself am from Class 77.”

 

Naegi’s face lights up. “You should have said so earlier, Komaeda-kun. That’s nice. So what's their name?”

 

“But they're not really important. They're unremarkable, don’t stand out, can’t do anything right… They're even more ordinary than you. You'd be disappointed.”

 

Naegi frowns. “No offense, but it’s kind of rude to talk that way about someone who isn’t here, you know…”

 

Komaeda giggles. “How do you know that they're not here?”

 

“Well, of course, it’s only the two of us—” Naegi stops, and realization spreads across his face. “…oh.”

 

“That’s right.” Komaeda nods. “They're such despicable trash, completely worthless especially when compared to everyone else. They’ll never ever amount to anything, try as they might.”

 

Naegi’s frown deepens even more. “…I really do hope you're not talking about yourself, Komaeda-kun.”

 

“Eh?” Komaeda blinks before giggling again. “But Naegi-kun, didn’t you say that it was rude to talk about someone who isn’t around? If I am indeed talking about myself, it means that I'm talking about someone who's actually here. Is that still bad then?”

 

“Never mind that, it’s not good that you're…” Naegi pauses as if thinking about what to say next. “Okay, look, as I said, I don’t think talent and hope are related. Same goes with talent and worth… Not having a Super High School Level Talent doesn’t mean you're worthless.”

 

“You're too optimistic, Naegi-kun. It’s almost admirable.”

 

“Well, that’s because that’s my only good—wait, that’s not the point here!” Naegi solidifies his concentration. “See, Komaeda-kun, I know this probably doesn’t mean much coming from your fellow Super High School Level Good Luck, but I really know for sure that you're not worthless.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

“Something about this tells me that you're not convinced at all, Komaeda-kun….” Naegi scratches the back of his head. “Okay… only if it’s alright, can I start hanging out here too from now on?”

 

“As I said, it’s not like I own this bench.”

 

“Alright.” Naegi nods, smiling again. “I’ll definitely show Komaeda-kun that he's not worthless.”

 

Before Komaeda can reply, the voice of someone calling Naegi interrupts them. They both turn towards its direction, and Komaeda sees a redheaded boy with a goatee. If he remembers right, that person must be Kuwata Leon, the Super High School Level Baseball Player…

 

“Ah, Kuwata-kun is calling me… I wonder what he wants…” Naegi turns to Komaeda, looking almost apologetic. “Let’s just talk again tomorrow lunch time, if it’s okay? I’ll go here in this bench again.”

 

“Feel free, Naegi-kun.”

 

“Sorry, really. I wish we weren’t cut off this short.” Naegi bites his lower lip. “Anyway, here, as a small gift from me. It’s like an apology for leaving fast and also a commemoration for our first meeting.”

 

“Ah, there's no need—”

 

Naegi doesn’t even let him finish sentence as he softly takes Komaeda’s hand and places something on it. “It’s the candy that’s popular nowadays. I hope Komaeda-kun likes candy… Anyway, tomorrow, okay? Bye for now, Komaeda-kun!”

 

Naegi takes off and runs towards Kuwata’s direction, but not before giving him one last wave. Komaeda says a soft ‘bye’ anyway despite the fact that he won’t be heard anymore at this distance.

 

He looks at the candy in his hand. Its wrapper was violet, and there was a small drawing of a bunch of grapes. Not that it wasn’t obvious already with the wrapper’s color, but the candy must be grape-flavored then. He turns it around again to inspect it more thoroughly, and he himself doesn’t quite understand why his face seems to have heated up when he sees the three words written on it.

 

 

This was the candy that was popular nowadays, the one with short messages on it.

 

‘ _Never lose hope,_ ’ it said.

 

The next day in the same bench under the same tree, Komaeda gives Naegi the one that said ‘ _thank you_.’

**Author's Note:**

> So my friend sent me a picture of the 'never lose hope' candy, and I was so inspired, haha. Here are pics that I posted on Twitter so I can link it here. :D https://twitter.com/irl_junko/status/655682045016805376


End file.
